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Here's what happened at:
'Dell Medical School Update: The Role of Technology in Transforming Healthcare'. 
Thank you to Dr. Mini Kahlon, Vice Dean for Strategy and Partnerships at Dell Medical School, for sharing her expertise in healthcare and emerging health technologies. Dr. Kahlon turns vision into strategy to guide the Dell Medical School in achieving its mission in education, research and clinical innovation. In addition to building the ecosystem of partners necessary to establish a new model for academic medicine in advancing the health of a region, Mini works with public, private and academic partners across Austin and the surrounding area to grow a model healthy city and advance health-related innovation.

Special thanks to Ed Park of Athenahealth for joining Dr. Kahlon for Q&A following her presentation.  
Dell Medical School: First Year Impact and Innovation

The medical school welcomed its first class in June 2016 with the goal of educating the next generation of physician leaders in a cutting-edge curriculum and program. Students experience an innovative curriculum that focus on understanding data, health incentives, healthcare technologies, and the business of healthcare. Dell Med students are trained to understand healthcare issues in both clinical settings and the day-to-day lives of people across the community. 

Opening her talk, Dr. Kahlon expressed interest in seeing technology innovation in Austin fostered by the US Government’s "Moonshot" to end cancer. However, she first pointed out that unlike the Apollo program, the biggest changes for reducing cancer deaths are not directly technological, but behavioral. For example, lung cancer is accountable for 1 in 5 cancer deaths worldwide but is largely preventable by not using tobacco, which causes:
            86% of lung cancer cases
            65% of esophageal, head, and neck cancers
            37% of bladder cancer 
            29% of pancreatic cancer

Technology can potentially be used to influence human behavior to improve health outcomes. However, we are in the early days of understanding how to use smartphones, at-home health devices, and even videogames to achieve behavioral improvements that significantly improve outcomes.  Moreover, whereas the Apollo program was largely engineering challenges—the science was essentially known—the cancer “moonshot” presents many scientific challenges as well as technological ones. 
Innovation for who DMS impacts 
As part of their training, DMS students are working with community health care clinics to help fill gaps in community access and outreach. The historical I-35 divide in Austin illustrates the impact of household income and ethnicity on life expectancy. Understanding differences in healthcare factors among different segments of the population presents another set of challenges. For example, how do healthcare technologists, which are skewed towards certain demographics, truly understand all of the factors that might be influencing health conditions in very different groups? Dr. Kahlon suggested the need for focusing-- up front-- on groups and neighborhoods that can benefit most from innovation resulting in much greater impact.



















Also, the medical school can use “brokers” that offer resources to help innovators and technologists address healthcare problems and issues in all communities. For example, Austin Healthcare Council serves as a forum for providers and executives to communicate and collaborate on objectives such as improving care for the sickest Austinites.

 
Innovation for what DMS impacts 

Dr. Kahlon posed questions such as what is being measured and changed in modern patient care? And, are we missing an opportunity to create technologies and/or products to impact the right solution?

While preparing dinner one evening for her family, she suffered a deep cut in her finger that would not stop bleeding. In thinking about her own experience, she identified 3 aspects of care:
  • Capability— are you able to Google your condition and home care options? Are you able to drive yourself to the urgent care center?
  • Comfort— am I bleeding more than normal? are you anxious about whether insurance will pay for your injury once you get there? did you get a quick appointment with the provider?  
  • Calm –did you get the solution you needed before you bled out or lost a thumb? Are you able to return to normal activities such as slicing food for dinner? 
After this experience, she wondered if care providers are utilizing all the tools available and delivering the best options to their patients. 

 
Innovation for how DMS impacts 

Dell Medical School has a blank slate for a new model of care that is not wrangled to existing health companies or typical models. Using innovation and technology is vital to the new way of medical education and patient care. Many of the leading disruptive technologies, such artificial intelligence techniques (machine learning, natural language processing, cognitive computing, etc.) and blockchain, are being applied to new medical technologies that could revolutionize healthcare.




















Three innovative programs are being instituted in Austin at DMS: 
Texas Health Catalyst
  • Identify promising translational research that has the potential to become a value-based health product.
  • Provide timely and customized guidance on the research and development pathway from industry and clinical experts.
  • Grant seed funding for exceptional projects that may otherwise not have a source for support
  • Contact: Ruben Rathnasingham

Health Impact Accelerator
  • Concept/product/company is pre-vetted on potential to succeed and provided with all-in guidance & support for the long-haul
  • Investor panel helps with funding models
  • Promises impact on health innovation delivery on Dell Med critical path/community need
  • Contact: Mellie Price
Data Technologies
  • Provides next gen health data interfaces in practice
  • Committed to health technologies that advance value in healthcare
  • Committed to making Austin a hub for digital health
  • Contact: Rick Peters
 
 
So, what are some of the best technology solutions? 

Ed Park, Board Member and former COO at Athenahealth, joined Dr. Kahlon on stage and offered some insights on technology innovation in patient care. 
 
He said the most impactful innovation might be telemedicine and that it is no longer a question of "if but when." In his opinion it will become a part of the medical system and patient solutions, but Ed questioned how we can use it most creatively given that it is still at the early end of adoption.

He then offered some suggestions: 

Urgent care:
What should I do for this bleeding finger?
Should I go to urgent care?
 
Drones:
Can we get medications delivered to your door within 2 hours of a telemed consult?  
What are the privacy and safety issues of that? 
 
IoT devices:
Can you effectively monitor blood pressure and other conditions using technology at home?
Is it possible to convalesce at home instead of at a hospital?
 
3D animation or virtual reality for patient education, cutting costs:  
If a patient goes to the ER with symptoms and pain that are mistaken for heart attack (an emergency!), but really, they have a hiatal hernia (not an emergency), can providers show the patient the difference using an animation? How many non-emergency repeat visits can be prevented? Is the patient is comforted and calm?

The Dell Medical School aims to train leaders, not just practitioners, and this requires innovation: in teaching and learning, in medical technologies, and in the delivery of healthcare. Dell Med has a unique opportunity to positively impact the healthcare system through the adoption of integrated technology, accessibility to a lively Austin tech startup scene, student participation in community & preventive medicine programs, and commitment to innovation.
 
 
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Special thanks to Newk's for the great snacks!
 

 
Newk's catering specialists will assist you with all your needs and help you build the perfect spread.  They’ll deliver, setup and everything in between.  All you have to do is relax and enjoy the food!  So for your next catering event, just remember… we cater, you party!



Thanks to Greg, the bartender from WeTendBar! 

 
Join us in May for
 
How (and why) are people breaking into computer systems? What are they doing, and what are the risks?

Computers have become fundamental to our lives in just 70 years. Some of these devices are almost hidden while enabling and automating many aspects of our lives and our infrastructure, while others we use every day on our desks and in our hands. As we integrate these devices more and more into our lives it presents a new threat to all of us that hackers are looking to take advantage of at a rapidly increasing rate. With our society increasingly dependent on computers and digital data, there is corresponding increase in computer crimes and information theft.

Alan Daines, Chief Information Security Office for Dell, the largest private techology company in the world, shares his experiences in managing cybersecurity in the enterprise and in his personal life.


Alan serves as Vice President and Chief Information Security Officer of Dell’s Cybersecurity organization. Alan’s team empowers the business by managing risk, maintaining compliance and securing the enterprise environment. Most recently Alan has been responsible for bringing together Dell and EMC’s Security organizations as part of the largest tech acquisition in history.
More on Alan

Tuesday, May 2, 2017
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